ShareUtah's Plants and Animals - The Scheme of Things
Do
It!
Okay, without making too much of a disturbance, look up and study the
people that are in the same room that you are in right now. Just study
those around you. After about five minutes, quietly take out a sheet of
paper and make five observations about the physical features (hair or
eye color, height, etc.) of five of people. This assignment is not meant
as an excuse to make fun of anyone. When you have completed this part
of the assignment, make five observations about yourself. Here is the
question. Did any of the people that you observed have exactly the same
features? Unless your subjects included identical twins, the chances are
that the answer to this question is no.
Groupies
There are many different types of plants, animals, and even people on
this planet. We call this DIVERSITY or BIODIVERSITY. Because all animals,
plants and people are diverse, scientists classify (divide) them into
certain groups or categories based on how they are alike.
Even though animals are diverse, they are also the same
in many ways. If you look at your classmates again do you notice things
that make you all alike? Because there are many things that make you the
same, scientists have classified you into the same "group."
You are humans and you are also mammals. We use classification systems
in our everyday lives. Do you put your socks in the refrigerator? Of course
not. You have a classification system in your room. At least most of you
do. You put your socks in a specific place within that system.
You're the scientist!
Classification systems help us to make sense of the variety of things
in our world. These systems are made by humans. They are usually based
on physical similarities and chemical relationships between things.
Do it!
Try this classification activity.
- Remove everything from your desk.
- Sort the material that was in your desk into categories based on how they are similar or work together.
- List the groups that you have made.
- Explain your classification (or grouped) system. Why did you group your materials the way you did?
You can also try this activity at your desk. In this activity you will practice grouping objects by their similarities and differences. Collect pictures of insects and cut them out.
- Group them by their similarities and differences.
- Give a name to each of your groups.
- Explain your method of grouping.
- Why did you place certain insects in the groups that you did?
- Can some of the insects be members of more than one group? Explain.
Scientists have already helped us classify Earth's animals and plants into categories. I'll bet you already know some of these groups. Look at the chart below and see what you already know. Do you know where your pet iguana fits in?
| Animals | Characteristics | Tree | Characteristics |
| Mammals | warm-blooded, fur/hair, live birth, vertebrate (with backbones,) lungs | Conifers | don't loose their leaves, have pine cones |
| Reptiles | cold-blooded, vertebrate, scales | Deciduous | loose their leaves every year |
| Amphibians | live on & off land, vertebrate, cold-blooded, lay eggs, gills | ||
| Birds | feathers, vertebrate, lay eggs, wings, warm-blooded | ||
| Fish | gills, vertebrate, live in water, lay eggs, cold-blooded | ||
| Insects | invertebrates (without backbones,) exoskeleton, 6 legs |
The above chart is just a small part of the system which scientists use to group the great diversity of living things in our world. Scientists have classified plants and animals into categories as you have just learned. And as you already know, they also classify parts of the world. A biome, for example, describes a zone (or land area) on Earth with a similar climate, and plant and animal life. Living in each biome are the plants and animals that can survive and thrive in that area.
Clean it!
Use
the information above to classify the materials in your own bedroom. Throw
the junk in the garbage and neatly organize your belongings. Think of
it this way. You will be practicing "real science" and making
your parents very happy at the same time. Who knows what kind of praise
or award might be awaiting you for having a clean and organized room?
Find out about the biodiversity in your own backyard.
After studying the information on this site, use a magnifying glass
to identify and classify the abundance of life in your own backyard.
Remember, you can make up your own system to group the life that
you discover. Have fun, but remember, some bugs or spiders may
bite!
Make a brochure about one
group of living things. Remember there are millions of living
things on Earth and not all of them are plants or animals. Be
creative and find a group that is unique.